Benjamin Franklin Hummel III, 65, of Hulett, Wyoming (formerly of Northumberland and Danville, Pennsylvania) died March 26, 2010 at the Fort Meade Veterans Administration Medical Center's Hospice Care Unit at Fort Meade, South Dakota.

Born May 7, 1944, Ben was the oldest child and only son born to Lewis Ellsworth Hummel and Betty Jane (Sassaman) Hummel. He celebrated his first birthday on VE-Day, the day Germany surrendered and officially ended World War II in Europe. As a small child he travelled throughout the United States and Canada with his parents when his father, Lew, played baseball with the House of David. About 1950, when the first of his three sisters was born, the family settled down in Point Township, Northumberland, Pennsylvania and Ben learned to hunt and fish the fertile Susquehanna River valley.

Ben enlisted in the United States Air Force in December of 1962, soon after graduation from Northumberland High School. After completing basic training in Texas, he was stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida. It was there he met his wife, Andre'lle (Andi), to whom he was married for forty-five and a half years.

In 1966, he served a one-year tour of duty in Vietnam, during which the couple's first child, Stacia, was born. Upon returning to the United States, his enlistment period satisfied, Ben moved his family home to Pennsylvania where he worked for several months at Wickes Lumber Company before accepting a position with the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida. It was here the couple's son, Benjamin Lewis, was born. In 1970, Ben transferred back to central Pennsylvania, working first at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary (Lewisburg, Pennsylvania) and then at Allenwood Correctional Center (Allenwood, Pennsylvania), where he retired in June, 1993.

Ben and Andi sold their small farm in the Danville area and moved, in 1996, to Hulett, Wyoming. Unable to stay away from work, they bought an old house with a few acres, fell in love with a stray puppy (Nike), and settled in "for the duration." Ben, always active in sports and physically fit, liked to take long walks with Nike, enjoyed watching his favorite basketball and football teams on television, and busied himself with building, improving, and "inventing." Proud of his children and grandchildren, he enjoyed teaching them the values of work and play.

Mischievous but always fair-minded, Ben made friends easily and loved his family above all else. Considering his wife to be the best of his friends, he kept her foremost in his thoughts and together they've enjoyed the freedom of his retirement years in Wyoming, though the distance home to Pennsylvania was sometimes "bothersome." Ben was an active member of Hulett's Roy Montgomery American Legion Post 80, held membership in the National Rifle Association, and was a member of the Republican Party. While he was not an active church member, his faith was strong and he always tried to do what he considered "the right thing, the kindest thing, for the most people."

Ben, a much-loved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend, was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Andi; daughter, Stacia A. Hummel, of Marietta, Pennsylvania; son, Benjamin L. Hummel (and his wife, Deanna Gretsfeld Hummel), of Hulett, Wyoming; and two grandchildren, Faith Maloy Hummel and Benjamin Morgan Hummel, both of Hulett, Wyoming. Also surviving are three sisters, Barbara A. Ciampi (and her husband, Peter), of Berwick, Pennsylvania; Susan Hummel, of Middleton, Wisconsin; and Cindy Lou Barrows (and her husband, Peter), of Harwich Port, Massachusetts; three nieces, Dena Ciampi Briggs (and her husband Dylan), Glenn Barrows, and Joelle Barrows; three nephews, Bernard Ciampi, Adam Hollenzer (and his wife Beth), and Justin Hollenzer; and by two grand-nephews Lewis and Mitchell Briggs. Also surviving are a brother-in-law, Richard E. Maloy, and his family of Danville, Pennsylvania; his mother-in-law, Marge Maloy; and Lionel T. Wallace, an uncle-by-marriage who was a very dear friend, both of Lynn Haven, Florida.

No visitation or funeral is scheduled and Ben's ashes will be spread, at the discretion of his family, in a private ceremony. Plans are being made for a memorial picnic this summer. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ben's name to the Roy Montgomery American Legion Post 80 (attn: Tina Fish, treasurer), 1563 Mona Road, Aladdin, WY 82710, or to Black Hills Health Care System, Department of Veterans Affairs, Fort Meade Hospice Care Unit, 113 Comanche Road, Fort Meade, South Dakota 57741.

Arrangements are under the care of Fidler-Roberts & Isburg Funeral Chapel of Sundance, Wyoming.
Online condolences may be written at www.fidler-isburgfuneralchapels.com